My reasons for wanting an Internship was to improve my chances of getting a job after I left University. In addition I wanted an Intersnhip to gain first hand experience into how working for a large multi-national company feels and the day-to-day running of the company.

I had an Internship with ABB in Stonehouse for 13 weeks. In the placement itself I was involved in software and hardware testing, test plan writing, calibration and testing of devices. In addition to this I had a great opportunity to work with very experienced persons where I have learned a whole new perspective of looking at things. Not only have I learnt a lot on what I was working but also I had gained knowledge on different aspects of chemistry, mechanical and other stuff from my colleagues, which I believe I can use in my further career to excel. Overall, I had a fantastic time where I met new people, got to know more about the company and how it operates.

This opportunity has really increased my career prospects by opening gates to different streams in the field of electronics. Due to this placement experience, my CV has got good weight and I could get interview calls from different companies. This placement has given me a good start to my career.

I had a very good and friendly relationship with SES. Especially the support given by Mubeen are appreciable and impeccable. I couldn’t have asked for more. Absolutely a big YES that I would recommend SES. I’ve never come across any staff from any other employment services as concerned and dedicated as them.

I would strongly recommend fellow students and graduates to do an Internship placement in a company before they actually step into the corporate world. A good placement gives a good exposure on the working environment and also boosts a lot of confidence.

My reasons for wanting a placement was to improve my chances of getting a job after I left University. In addition I wanted a placement to gain first hand experience into how working for a large multi-national company such as ABB feels and the day-to-day running of the company, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I had a placement with ABB in Stonehouse for 13 weeks. In the placement itself I was involved in using forecasting techniques to develop a faster production schedule for the main products produced at the site. In addition, I was also given tasks by my line manager to complete Calibration and Vibration testing, process mapping sheets, AutoCad drawings and Process Flowsheets as background tasks. I have learnt an enormous amount from this opportunity, which I believe I can use in my future career to help me succeed. Overall, I had a fantastic time where I met new people, got to know more about the company and how it operates.

I was very pleased to have done the placement with ABB because I know more about the company and how it operates. I really enjoyed the atmosphere within the company, which helped me settle in very quickly as everyone was very kind and welcoming. I thought it was very rewarding working more different departments such as QA and Engineering, which made my tasks more enjoyable and interesting.

Also my relationship with SES during my internship was very good and I would definitely recommend SES to anybody doing placements because they were very quick and efficient in responding to any queries or concerns I had. I would urge fellow students and graduates to keep applying for internships and not give up. It’s also a good idea to invest more time in the application process and not rush but also to apply soon!

I wanted to have a structured gap year and gain valuable insight into future industry work I hoped to become involved in. I thought a long-term work experience placement would broaden my horizons, stretch my mind and offer me experience of the practicalities of an industrial firm/work place in the real world – with more challenging responsibilities, working outside my comfort zone. I thought doing a placement would give me valuable experience, increasing my employability prospects after my University degree.

My placement was at DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs), for 10 months. I was in the Biodiversity department’s UK policy team. My main responsibilities were editing their quarterly magazine for external stakeholders and supporting the department’s projects (one which involved an exciting competition process chaired by a renowned biologist) – often organizing events, contributing to report writing and data collation, and being secretariat for meetings. Alongside this I was given the exciting opportunities to attend a national conference on ‘people, nature and economics’ and an EU meeting in Brussels.

My placement really exercised and developed such a variety of skills. It has given such scope of working in a professional business – and definitely been an invaluable experience for me.

Advice that I could give to fellow students and graduates for doing an Internship would be that you have to have an open mind as the placement can be different from what you expect and vary even dramatically day to day. If you are enthused to be learning all the time and willing to put in 100% effort every day – you will definitely get out what you put in. It is important the area of work/subject is where your real interest lies – or at least you are willing to be interested and learn more, as then the motivation will follow by itself. Most importantly though, be confident in yourself – even with your under-experience and incomplete qualifications, you will already have many high quality skills that your placement company will value and take seriously.

My reasons for wanting a placement was to gain work experience in order to stand out from other graduates.

I worked at Yorkshire Bank in Leeds for a year. I was a Credit Risk Analyst within the Portfolio Management Team. I learnt and developed my business skills – time management, problem solving and communication skills – as well as technical skills – Visual Basic Access, SAS and Excel 2010.

Overall, I’m very happy I did my placement. I learnt a lot of new skills, earnt money and made a lot of contacts and friends.

I had a good relationship with SES as they handled the interview process well, as well as any queries I had during my placement. I would recommend SES to others, as they were a good link between myself and my placement.

My advice for anyone wanting to do an Internship is to keep applying until you succeed, and make the most of every opportunity you’re given!

The main reason I wanted a placement was to gain experience in the most aspects of a real business as possible.

My placement was with Coppenrath & Wiese UK; for 12 months. The placement was Commercial & Supply Chain but I need to emphasize that the placement gave me a good insight on the Retail Industry in UK, and how everything works in there besides the Commercial and Supply Chain. It was a very good experience and I would recommend everyone to do a placement if they have the possibility before going on the graduate market.

My advice to fellow students & graduates of doing an internship is try to keep your eyes and ears open all the time, the most valuable information you don’t learn from training packs and presentations but by talking and especially listening to people who are in the company.

My placement is with Westminster City Council. It was supposed to have lasted for one year, but my contract has been extended so the duration of my placement is coming up to two years. When I first started the placement I was just completing my portfolio. But now I have completed and passed it, along with the professional interview, but am waiting to find out if I have passed the professional exam and graduate from my MSc course.

I have been working with Westminster’s Food Safety Team and have been allocated my own reactive cases to investigate. Once I am fully qualified I will be able to carryout fully programmed Food Hygiene inspections inside restaurants and not just investigate reactive cases. I have thoroughly enjoyed doing the placement.

Everyday has been different and I have had the opportunity to work with very talented and experienced officers that have been very accommodating. I found that SES was really easy to get into contact with, if ever I had a query. I also found that they were very quick to action any requests that I had.

I was attracted to this placement as I wanted to gain relevant and practical experience, and apply the things I’d been taught at university to real life situations. I also thought that a placement year would help me to acquire skills and knowledge that would give me a better chance of applying for jobs in the future.

I enjoyed the responsibility involved in my post at Thompson Reuters and have gained confidence dealing with a wide diversity of clients. I really feel that I made a valuable contribution in my role.

SES provided a great deal of support. They were responsible for our contracts documentation, holidays, monthly salaries and payslips, and dealt with any problems promptly.

My placement lasts for a year and it takes place at Commerzbank AG in London in the Corporates and Markets Department in the Financial Institutions Marketing team. The team covers institutional clients for Structured Products (Equity, Commodity and Fund Derivatives).

The main responsibilities of the role are primarily to support members of the team with such things as putting together term sheets, marketing presentations and, coming up with the structuring teams, product ideas and themes.

One good thing about SES is the fact that they offer a wide range of placements and, nonetheless offer great opportunities for students to earn experience in areas where they want to work in the long-term.